The challenge of managing headache disorders in a tertiary referral neurology clinic in Rwanda

OBJECTIVE: To determine the pattern, management, and outcome of headaches among patients treated at Outpatient Neurology Clinic. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted at the Out-Patient Neurology Clinic of the Butare University Teaching Hospital, University of Rwanda, Butare, Rwanda between February and May 2015. We extracted the demographic data, headache characteristics, and associated conditions, prior pain-relieving medication use, waiting time before consultation, the results of paraclinical investigations, final diagnosis according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders, management, and 3-month clinical outcome from the medical records of all patients who consulted for headache over 36-month period. Epi Data and Statistical package for Social sciences software version 21.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA) software were used for data processing. RESULTS: Headache disorders represent a quarter of all neurological consultations. Patients were predominantly female (67%) and young (78% <45 years old). One-third (34%) presented with chronic tension-type headache. Neuroimaging demonstrated an abnormality in a significant minority (14%). Amitriptyline was the most commonly used drug (60%) in management. Forty percent of those patients followed for 3 months did not experience any clinical improvement. CONCLUSION: Headache is among the most common medical complaints in the Outpatient Neurology Clinic, with a wide array of underlying diagnoses, and a significant yield on neuroimaging. A significant proportion of those suffering from headache disorders have poor short-term outcomes. Novel approaches, such as headache support groups and alternative pharmacological agents, should be investigated for these patients.